Dead Battery???? I think not...

[cruisergeo]

[:I]Ok guys. My Daughter and Son in Law has an '02 Limited and for the second time in less than eight months their battery has died.
The dealer said it was "just the battery" but my daughter said, NO!!!
Not the second time in this short amount of time. Shes going to take it in again on thursday to have them look it over, but closer.
Anyone have this problem? Please let me know.

[8)]still chargin'

[MX-5]

There are a few possibilities.
The owners manual states that any time the PT will not be driven for 2 weeks, the IOD ignition off draw fuse should be pulled to keep the battery from going flat.

The OEM Mopar subwoofer has a TSB concerning constant power draw. There is a relay mod from Mopar to cure this. It will drain a battery in about 5-7 days without the fix.

Leaving a cell phone or some other portable device plugged in over night can also effect the battery. It's easy to forget about something, and it's hard to fess up and take the blame.

If those items are ruled out, the tech needs to check for a parasitic drain. This is a small power drain, commonly called dark current.

[bobs turbo pt]

not a pt but know of a dodge truck that at 8 months old battery was dead and no good dealer said " it happens"

[Dalite]

Just on a hunch, next time it goes dead, before trying switches, doors, etc., put a charger on the battery and see if one of the reading lamps come on.

I went outside the other night, and one of my reading lamps was on. APparently it had been on for quite some time. I tried to turn it off by pushing in on the lens to toggle the switch. No Go there. I opened and shut all the doors, no good. I turned the inside lights on and off at the stalk. Still possessed. Finally, I took the overhead console loose, unplugged it and took it inside for a few hours to let it cool completely.

When I reinstalled it hours later, no problem.

Don't ask me what I did. The reading/map lamps use the Chrysler standard of switching grounds. This saves a lot of isolation in circuits that have either/or branches in their logic, such as interior/map, or manually switched/door switched interior/map lights.

My best guess is a ground integrity glitch.

Since the lamps are auto on when ignition goes off, or auto dimmed on exit, or on with door, or on with stalk switch.... That leaves a lot of real estate when it comes to tracking down the culprit.

I am putting my money on heat causing something to flex and simulate a situation that the PCM interprets to be a light on signal. Why it affected only one of the reading/map lamps is beyond me. If I hadn't caught it, it would have shown up as a dead battery; a situation that happened once on my 2002 PT, with no explanation and no repeat performance.

[cruisergeo]

[:I]The Chrysler Dealer never did find out why the battery went down again. But it would not hold a charge, they replaced it.

[?]Still ponderin'

[tom]

I had same problem ,battery going dead. 3 trips to dealer,1 charge,1new battery, then I started to do my own checking. Turned out that I was not driving it for a week or two and when I did I was using the heated seats.,final cause heated seat relay switch was sticking in the closed position. maybe this will help you.

[Kroozah]

I have been having this issue with my 2001 ever since I put the mopar sub woofer in back in the day. I have been thru 5 or 6 batteries in the cars life.

I was wondering if anyone has seen the TSB for the relay mod to correct this or how to do it, diagram or anything helpful. I know its been 5 years, just did a google on this issue and this is all I could find on the net.

Thank you very much for any help...

Jamie

[MX-5]

The TSB for the Mopar sub was submitted by me to www.PTdiy.net a few years ago.
It covers the entire install.

[lakersfan1]

It is possible I suppose. If it happens again though .... first culprit I usually have is bad grounds. I will just start replacing ground wires with large gauge wire with platinum terminals. Then, I will usually also replace the alternator-to-battery power wire also with large wire with platinum terminals. This will help you rule out bad connections as a culprit .... which more times than not is at least a hinderance on cars that have seen at least a few harsh winters.

[damilleniumboy]

I knew it; the batteries on these thigs are 9V. I told you guys they were.


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Do these things run on 9V batteries?
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